LITTLE VALLEY — Cattaraugus County lawmakers are asking the New York State Legislature to help speed completion of the Route 219 Expressway through the county, beginning with a 1.66-mile segment at the intersection with Interstate 86 east of Salamanca.

Phase 2 of Route 219 will begin in March – This is an aerial view of the Route 219 project just north of Meyersdale. Photo submitted by the Joseph B. Fay Co. of Pittsburgh. An aerial video of the first phase of the project and a second video of the project managers are available online at www.dailyamerican.com.

There was no mention of funding for Route 219 environmental studies in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address Wednesday. Nor was there any specific funding allotted for the Route 219 studies in the proposed $141.6 billion state budget for 2015-16.

“It was a prime opportunity to dedicate some infrastructure funds from the banks settlement,” said State Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean. “We’ve tried to include funding for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in the state budget for the past three or four years.”